Deion Sanders was the star attraction in this year’s class of new Black coaches taking over major college programs.
Of course, he didn’t have a lot of competition.
Sanders, who left Jackson State for Colorado of the Pac-12 Conference, was one of just three Black head coaches hired by Football Bowl Subdivision schools in the recently completed cycle for the 2023-24 season.
Barring any additional changes, there will be 14 Black coaches at 133 FBS teams next season — roughly 10.5% of overall coaches and a drop from 15 at the start of this season, even as the FBS division adds two new schools in 2023.
The lack of diversity remains striking in a sport where more than half the players identify as Black.
Sanders was joined by two other Black head coaching hires. Purdue picked Ryan Walters, the defensive coordinator at fellow Big Ten school Illinois, to replace Jeff Brohm. And Kent State went with Minnesota assistant coach Kenni Burns to lead its program after Sean Lewis left to become Sanders’ offensive coordinator at Colorado.
Also, Zach Arnett appears to be the first Latino to lead a Southeastern Conference program, promoted from defensive coordinator at Mississippi State after the death of Mike Leach. And Lance Taylor, who is of Choctaw heritage, landed the top job at Western Michigan after serving as Louisville’s offensive coordinator.
The remaining 19 openings — including Georgia Tech sticking with interim coach Brent Key for the full-time job — were claimed by…
